Strategy - People - Applications - Technology - Support
Strategy
ERP Upgrades - building a business case
e.g. JD Edwards
Regardless of change in the ERP market clients still need to make
decisions based upon valid argument and return on investment. We can
demonstrate the value of an upgrade against the cost of the same;
look at alternatives and offer alternative/interim solutions.
ERP Selection Services
we will help you find and/or implement the right solution that
is right for your business that will deliver the sort of benefits
your users need whilst supporting any business critical requirements
they have...
When selecting a new business 'ERP' or system or component to
replace your existing Accounts package, CRM package, Procurement
package etc, on the face of it would seem a simple task. You would
ask the user community what they would like, this would become the
wish list, you would then invite prospective suppliers to review
this list and say if their solution fits the requirements. Finally
you would make a judgement on which is the best, taking into account
best fit including cost. You would them implement the chosen
solution and in most cases the user community would complain that it
doesn’t address their current needs or lacks certain functionality
they previously had or thought they would have.
The solution is then deemed a failure. When Differentia Consulting
provides this service, we establish certain facts so the right
solution can be found. Key sets of data we need to gather in order
to develop a clear statement of what the business needs from the new
solution: Current Requirements: are there any processes that are
business critical (required for legal, compliance or accreditation
purposes) that have to be processed in this way in the final
solution. Clear understanding of these processes will ensure they
are key to the decision making process when selecting the final
solution. Current Processes: the market place you operate in is
constantly changing and as such has an impact on your internal
processes. Understanding these changes and their impact (reducing
your costs, time to market, response time) will allow the business
to consider features in the new solution that have been previously
unavailable to you.
Future: Where is the market going, what are the trends, and how can
you gain the competitive edge on your competitors. Fully
understanding this again feeds into your requirements for the final
solution. Funding: what are the KPI’s - key performance indicators)
that will establish the amount available to fund this project and in
turn establish if it has been a success in delivering a good ROI
(return on investment). Experienced management of this process
enables the business to prepare for the final selection quickly and
effectively. Once the final requirements have been identified, the
correct solution must be short listed based on your requirements. As
part of this stage, it will be necessary to identify any gaps (lack
of functionality) in the solution. As with all solutions off the
shelf, there will be limitations and as such clearly understanding
them at the outset and the options available will reduce the impact
it has on the implementation.
Independent Programme and Project Management
Fundamental to any successful implementation is experienced programme and project management. It requires a person with many skills including, methodology knowledge (eg PRINCE2), appropriate product knowledge, business/industry experience, people management, attention to detail and many more.
At Differentia Consulting we pride ourselves on being able to manage and deliver projects that meet and exceed the client's expectations. Key to our approach is communication and partnership.
We can help you project manage your projects, whole or in part, and provide impartial independent advice on best practice.
ERP software/business audit
Differentia Consulting can provide you with complete peace of mind as you progress through the various
stages of the product implementation through to post go-live checks. During the project phase we can
provide an independent view on the status of the project and report any possible areas of concern
thereby enabling it to be addressed at an early stage. For the pre-live phase we will be able to assess the
readiness of the project and the business to implement the solution, this will prepare the project team and
the business for any issues which will arise when you have gone live.
Finally Differentia Consulting can provide post go-live and ad-hoc support whereby we validate if the current set-up is helping the
solution to deliver improved benefits or if there is any changes in both the business and system
processes that can help it realise this.
Functional gap analysis
One of the key questions a business should ask when implementing a
new solution is 'what can I do?' - this has both a positive and a
negative emphasis. The positive consists of the additional
functionality that will be available to the user community once it
is implemented, but more importantly, they should also understand
what is not available in the standard version of functionality that
was previously available to them. Through our product knowledge and
business experience, Differentia Consulting will identify the areas
of concern and provide the business with realistic alternatives that
will be either system or business based. We will help you understand
the implications of the gap, including its impact.
